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oh gosh i think i spoke too soon, car ran perfect for two days n last night it shut off on me, the first thing i thought was the fuel pump n im guessing thats wat it is. any other suggestions?????? btw bmw wants like $411 for the fuel pump is there any other company that can offer me a good one for less $

ok so i just drove the car with the back seat out so i could hear the fuel pump, wen i started drivin it would make a funny noise other than the quiet hummmm. idk if this is normal please let me know so i can make the next move

All the fuel pump is, is a small electrical motor, so it should only be making one noise. I haven't had to change mine yet, but there should be a write-up on www.E38.org. And $411 sounds way too high, but I get all my parts from a distributer that sells to german car dealerships, so my prices are usually lower than the what I see in other places.

yeah it has, i had the car running in my driveway n it shut off after and hour, then i turned it on n it shut off after 20 mins or so. i got the fuel level very low so i cud pull out the pump. it was easy gettin it out now i gotta wait till tomorrow morning for the new one. oh btw there was as good amt of debris i had to clean at the bottom of the pump reservoir

thnx ima check them out, n no it doesnt sputter, like u said its just like sumone turned the key off n yes the lights in the dash stay on. btw i changed the fuel pump n that filter you mentioned this morning. i let the car run for a while started to drive n got about a block away before it shut off......wat about the relay? i was told it could have a short or sumthing

I guess it could be the relay but it's strange that the car doesn't sputter at all. Even if the pump shuts off there should still be enough fuel pressure to make the car sputter for a second before shutting off.

The lights are still on in the dashboard so that's telling me that it isn't a loose ground, and if the lights stay on without dimming you're probably getting enough power for spark. Did the problem just start on its own, or did it happen after someone did work on the car? If the relay isn't expensive, you could give it a try just to rule out the fuel system. If it isn't the fuel system then it's weird that changing the fuel filter actually helped. Did you ever change the crank sensor?

I'm trying man, but I wish I could check your car out in person. It's hard to do this over the internet, but I'll keep giving help if I can. If you do take it to another shop, make sure you tell them everything that you changed and everything that you tried to make it easier for them to pinpoint. I'd really like to find out what's wrong with it.

i did the cam position sensor but not the crank position sensor cause i was told the car wouldnt start if the crank sensor was bad. one day i was divin home and the car just shut off, nobody worked on it before hand so idk, but ima try the relay next and then the maf again. btw i really appreciate your and everybody elses help i cudnt do this alone

If the IAC was bad, the car should have been running rough at idle. Usually even if the IAC goes bad, the car will still run at higher RPMs.

You should scan the computer again and see if any codes popped up, even if the check engine light isn't on. You should also call some local shops and see if you have one near you that will only charge you if they find the problem. Tell them that a few people already looked at it and you don't want to spend more money without a guarantee.

so i was test drivin the car n it shut off on me, anywho im supposed to bring it to a mechanic but he charges 90 n hr im just tryna exhaust all my options before i bring it to him. the only thing left i cud think of is maybe a clogged fuel line or like alternator or batt or sumthin idk anymore

It is possible that the fuel line got kinked if the car bottomed out somewhere hard. The designers usually put the lines next to frame rails and other well protected areas, but it does happen on occasion. I don't think that it is a charging issue (battery,alternator), as there would be symptoms before the car shut off.

You should scan for error codes one more time before sending it to the tech. I wish I could provide more options but if this was my car, I wouldn't know what to check for next.

Well, you can be sure that it isn't the fuel system, since the you've replaced every part that would cause the issue, and it probably isn't a sensor since no codes are popping up. I'm wondering if maybe you have a loose connection somewhere, a failing ECU, or a security system that is going crazy and shutting the car off. Come to think of it, what happens when the battery in the key goes bad?

Those were all guesses. If you take it to a tech, make sure you tell them about everything you've tested, and everything you've changed, so that they get a better idea about the issue and so that they don't charge extra for the time to check everything again.

i was thinkin a loose connection also or maybe a bad ground sumwhere. my bro was telling me maybe it was the security since the main key doesnt start the car cause the chip is bad i use the spare key but the main key unlocks the door, trunk, lowers the windows etc. i dont think its that tho cause i been using the same key since i got the car for last fall and it just started shutting off a few months ago

If the Mass Air Flow meter is going bad, it will usually cause the car to sputter, misfire, and run rough. What the MAF does is meter how much air goes into the motor, and it adjusts fuel to match it, to get the best air/fuel mixture for the RPM range. If you disconnect the MAF while the car is at idle, the computer will go to a set air/fuel mixture that should make the car idle smoothly.

One way to find out if the MAF is bad, is to turn the car on, and if the car is running rough, disconnect it. If the car runs smoother, then the MAF is probably bad, if it runs the same, then the MAF is probably good.